We were in Forest City for work on our full wall slide in late March of 2016. Winnebago upgraded us to the newer gear mechanism at no charge. We were one of THREE coaches which received the new Power Gear mechanism. The Schwinteck was a mounted track attached to the top and bottom of the slide out with a s-shaped track in which the gears moved. The new system is a toothed track which floats in the space between the slide out and the RV, attached only at the forward and interior edge of the slide out. The new system is noisier than the old, but appears much more powerful. We were also instructed that whenever a slide out is to be moved, hold the button to deploy for a few seconds prior to bringing the slide in, conversely hold the button in for a few seconds prior to extending the slide out.

We would encourage anyone having slide out issues to go to Forest City to have it evaluated.

...The new system is a toothed track which floats in the space between the slide out and the RV, attached only at the forward and interior edge of the slide out.. .

I think I saw this system on some new Winnebagos at the last RV show. The sales guy there said the new system won't jump the tracks like the old one.

I'd like to add my vote to getting some pictures of the retrofit. My 2015 Suncruiser has had only one (!!) major schwintek failure and we have been contemplating a run for Forest City (or maybe Junction City when that is up and running) before our next one.

At the show I wasn't sure how they could retrofit my rig with the new system.

We have had issues with the full-side slide since day 1. Most recently went out crooked then refused to move either in or out. Finally got it to go in but stayed crooked. As we are out of warranty figured it was going to really cost me. Turned out the two motors can get out of "sync". Found a repair shop on the road in Hesperia, CA and they showed me how to re-sync the motors. Working fine again but geez! So planning a trip up that way in Sept. Maybe I'll contact them and see if they will change out to the new mech's. Thanks alot for this post and info.
2014 Suncruiser 32H
for honest repairs: RV Systems, Hesperia, CA. Right off the I-15

Another poster stated that Winnebago would only upgrade RV who had failures, but I do not know that.

Thanks Donnariley53

Great pictures! I'm scheduled in Forest City this August to have my kitchen slide repaired for the 4th time and have a few questions:
1. Do you know if you have to have a certain amount of failures to get the new power gear system?
2. Did you have to request the new system?
3. Do you feel that this fix is the right way to go? i.e. more reliable?
4. Does the metal used to cover the old rack look good and is it color matched?
5. Do you now have two of the new flexible rails on each side of the slide or only the one on the bottom as shown?

Thanks for sharing you experience with the rest of us who have had this issue!

Great pictures! I'm scheduled in Forest City this August to have my kitchen slide repaired for the 4th time and have a few questions:

1. Do you know if you have to have a certain amount of failures to get the new power gear system?

2. Did you have to request the new system?

3. Do you feel that this fix is the right way to go? i.e. more reliable?

4. Does the metal used to cover the old rack look good and is it color matched?

5. Do you now have two of the new flexible rails on each side of the slide or only the one on the bottom as shown?

Thanks for sharing you experience with the rest of us who have had this issue!

1) We had been repaired once at Lazydays and the slide failed after only 6 or 7 extensions.
2) We did ask for the new system and our coach had to be approved for the upgrade by a Schweintek rep.
3) Yes! The new system is louder than the old track system, but appears to be more reliable. We were also told to sync the motors before retracting or deploying, by holding the button out for 5 seconds when retracting and in before deploying.
4) If you look in the picture where my husband is holding his keys, you can see the black metal they used to cover where the track was attached.
5) Yes, we have 4 powerglide rails on our full wall slide out.

There is a YouTube video from Lippert on how to do it. I assume you have the Schwintek system. If so, as I recall it says to bring it in about 8" then fully extend. Do this three times. When fully extending or retracting be sure to hold the button until the motors fully stop 3-5 sec after the slide stops moving. Avoid partial extend or retract operations. In other words when bringing it in or out do not stop partway. That is what causes the motors to get out of synch.

+1 on "syncing" procedure above it works. We have always done the button hold for 3 secs but still have occasional problems and have to re-sync. The small bedroom slide always works perfectly. Thank you all for keeping this posting alive by updates of your progress in Iowa.